Migrant mother and son kept apart, now reunited in Spain

MADRID – An African woman has been reunited with her 4-year-old son in Spain after they reached the country in separate boats and were kept apart without contact for months while authorities established they were related.

A lawyer who took their case to the European Court of Human Rights says 33-year-old Bahoumou Totopa and her son, Abdramane Aziz Cisse, met on Monday in Melilla. The boy had been under the care of social services in the Spanish enclave in northern African.

The reunion came after the European court questioned the Spanish government last month for not allowing contact between the mother and child while confirming their relationship.

Women's Link Worldwide lawyer Teresa Fernandez said the reunion went smoothly even though Totopa, who speaks French, had difficulty communicating with her Spanish-speaking son.